The Good Doctor
by Perpetual Concern
Summary: On her way to meet her sister in a nearby town, Nami's coach is attacked by bandits. Left for dead, she marvels at her luck when a handsome doctor offers his medical assistance. But it seems that the magical good Samaritan has an ulterior motive...


**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters.**

**A/N: After writing this, I decided that fantasy is not my forte. But I had to give it a go anyway.  
**

* * *

Nami smoothed down a crease in her emerald green dress and took a moment to admire the view outside her carriage window. The countryside was something which she rarely had the pleasure of experiencing, with its green, rolling hills and lush vegetation. As much as she enjoyed civilisation in the city, she had to admit that at times, the view here could be quite breathtaking. Today was an especially nice day; there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperature felt perfect. Nami decided that it couldn't have been a better day to be travelling back home. Upon thinking about home, she reached for the envelope beside her and gently opened it to remove the letter inside. Settling down in her seat and ignoring the view for now, she began to reread its contents.

_Dear Sister, I hope that you have had a memorable time during your stay with Robin. You must let me know as soon as you return home if you found any potential suitors. I hear that she is a part of a very exclusive circle._

Nami smiled at that. It _had _been a wonderful trip, and Robin certainly had introduced her to a number of charming men. Men with money. A blond man had appeared absolutely smitten with her; she refused to believe the long-nosed fellow who had declared that he swooned over anyone who was a member of the opposite sex. No, she was sure that she had been equally charming and that Sanji simply couldn't resist her. She certainly wasn't making any plans for marriage, although the blond was high up on her list for the future.

_I know that you are a strong and capable woman, however I feel compelled to warn you, being the duty of an elder sister, that the forests are becoming more and more dangerous. I am sure that your driver is cautious, however, home has been simply buzzing with news about bandits. Many appear to have the use of magic, although some seem dangerous enough merely with everyday weapons. I hope that one day we will be able to travel in between cities in a safer manner, but as of now, please proceed with caution. I have heard rumours that the woods are filled with people honing their magical skills. I do not wish to exhibit prejudice, but there is something a little unnerving about those who deliberately live so far away from civilisation._

Nami's eyes swept over the beautiful hillside. It was difficult at times to believe that they truly held such danger, but she had heard terrible stories. Magical beings were usually at the centre of them, so she could understand Nojiko's apprehension.

_I look forward to your return. _

As did Nami. If she remembered correctly, she would be back home within several hours. Smiling, she placed the letter back in the envelope and went back to admiring the view outside her window. Time was passing slowly and she turned her thoughts back to her time spent with Robin. It _had _been nice. The older woman treated her like a sister, and the parties had been most enjoyable. The trip to the races had been a delicious treat too, and Nami had had a first row seat to watch the dragons burst out of the gate and fly through the arena, with the blond man sitting next to her. Just as Nami began to weigh up the benefits and disadvantages of further pursuing Sanji as a potential suitor, the carriage stopped moving. Nami had only a second to take in this event before there was a shot, a scream, and a loud whinny.

Hiking up her dress, she opened the door and stumbled out, only to back away when her eyes locked with a pair of glinting, murderous orbs. A tall redhead was holding a smoking pistol. Her mouth dropping open slightly, Nami felt her brain begin to whir into gear as she suddenly understood the situation. Panic rose up in her, threatening to overwhelm, and for a moment she simply stood there, still. The redheaded man smirked maliciously at her, the corners of his mouth turning up in a feral grin.

"My, oh my. You look pretty well to do. I think I've struck gold." He began striding towards her.

Should she try to attack him? Offer him everything that she had? Or run?

Without taking much time to think about it, Nami tensed her muscles and sprinted as fast as she could. The man didn't move, and for a moment she thought that she was home free. She didn't know where she would go or what she would do, but all that she wanted at this present moment was to escape this bandit. It wasn't until she was knocked to the ground in an ungraceful tangle of limbs that she realised her mistake. Of course...most bandits hunted in groups. And she had just discovered the fatal flaw in her plan.

Fatal indeed. She had only time enough to tilt her head to look at her pursuer. Icy fear settled in the pit of her stomach as she saw in her peripheral vision the driver lying facedown on the ground, in a pool of blood. And right in front of her eyes was a lanky masked man, with long blond hair, grasping a pair of gleaming scythes. It seemed almost ridiculous that her first thought was whether or not she would be stabbed to death, or if either of the bandits were capable of using magic.

The masked man lunged towards her. Rolling away, Nami grabbed the nearest 'weapon' she could find; a long stick. A scream tore from her throat as she ducked to avoid the blades and swiped at him with her stick.

He avoided her easily and kicked out a foot to trip her up. Caught by surprise, Nami stumbled, almost dropping her stick. But as adrenaline began to race through her veins, she vowed that she wasn't going to go down without a fight. The odds were sorely against her, but she was no weak woman. She had suffered the death of her beloved mother, the taunts of the neighbouring children and a mugging on the street. There was no way that bandits were going to turn her into a snivelling, pathetic girl who did nothing but beg for her life.

And perhaps she would have had a small chance, if she had had time to think up a way to surprise her attacker. But she supposed that it shouldn't have surprised her to find that bandits fought dirty, when a loud bang echoed, and pain blossomed in her shoulder. Sinking to the ground in shock, she squeezed her eyes shut and felt the stab of the blades. Barely conscious, she was aware of the agonising pain in her chest, and the taste of blood in her mouth where she had accidentally bitten her tongue. Her last thoughts were of her sister, and the idea of causing her such immense grief was almost as painful as the wounds.

_Nojiko..._

* * *

Was that...birdsong that she was hearing?

A groan escaped from her lips as Nami attempted to move. She was laying on something soft and comfortable. As she shifted slightly, she noticed that something felt...different. She felt...lighter?

Wrenching her eyes open, she struggled into a sitting position. Upon glancing down at herself, her mouth dropped open.

She was no longer in her dress. She was wearing a pair of long pants and a man's shirt.

"Good afternoon."

Still in a state of shock and confusion, Nami craned her head to search for the source of the voice. Leaning against a wall was a slender man wearing a long, black coat. Shaggy dark hair peeked out from underneath a fur hat. His arms were folded casually across his chest and he smiled at her.

"I see that you've woken up, Miss...?"

"Nami," she supplied. "And you are?"

"My name is Trafalgar Law."

"Did you save me?" she questioned.

The corners of his mouth twitched. "I'm a...doctor. I came across your fallen carriage."

"Wait! The driver-"

"Is dead. He was already dead when I saw him. The cause of death was; a bullet through his chest." He spoke freely, almost uncaringly, shrugging his shoulders as he did so.

Nami ran a hand through her messy orange hair. She hadn't really known him, but Law was being so _callous_. About to call him out on this, she opened her mouth to speak, when a flash of green appeared in the corner of her eye. Her dress, crumpled and stained with crimson blood, lay across a wooden chair.

"Did you undress me?" She couldn't help it that a note of accusation entered her tone of voice.

But he hardly looked offended. "How else was I supposed to tend to your wounds?"

Fair point. "Thank you." Her mind travelled back to the scene, and she wondered what had happened to the bandits. She hoped that they would be caught soon. She had never felt so completely and utterly helpless...Just thinking about her nearly fatal vulnerability, caused panic to well up inside her. But to her surprise, the only panic was in her mind. She didn't feel the usual constriction in her chest whenever her heart beat wildly in such situations. Odd. Almost as odd as Law who seemed perfectly content with looking straight at her, still smiling. It was making her uncomfortable. Clearing her throat, Nami spoke, simply in an effort to put an end to the awkward silence.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you save me? I know the shoulder wound wasn't fatal, but it felt like I got stabbed straight in the heart?"

Law pulled over a chair and sat down before answering. "You did suffer wounds in your heart."

"But-"

"A normal doctor would be unable to save you from death," he agreed. "However, I have more...shall we say _talent_ than the usual doctor?"

"Talent..." The penny dropped. "You mean you can use magic?"

"Correct."

"Where am I?"

"Near the site of where I found you. I find I get better at learning to control my powers, as well as become a better doctor, in the woods, away from people. Does that worry you?"

"No," she lied. Well, she supposed, it really shouldn't concern her. He had saved her life after all. Only a good person would do that. "Would you be able to escort me back home?"

He paused for a moment before answering. "That reminds me, where were you coming from?"

Nami supposed that there was no harm in telling him. "I was visiting a friend in the neighbouring city. I live alone with my sister usually, but I wanted to spend some time with Robin."

He seemed to perk up at that. "Robin? Nico Robin?"

Surprised and happy to hear that he knew her friend, Nami nodded first, before shaking her head and correcting him. "That used to be her name, before she got married."

"Nico Robin is living in a nearby town?"

"Yes? How do you know her?" She felt much safer already.

Law took a moment to answer. When he finally spoke, she was so surprised that had she not been already sitting down, she may have collapsed from the shock. "I consider it an important thing to know those who are as...gifted...as I am."

"You cannot possibly mean that Robin possesses magic!"

"That surprises you? I suppose she, like many others, is wary of expressing her gift. I'm sure that you yourself immediately judged me for it." Law stared at her pointedly.

Nami felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment and guilt. Squirming in her seat, she tried to scoff at his accusation. "You saved my life. How could I think any less of you, just because you can use magic? Magic saved my life, after all-"

He laughed. "Are you usually this bad of a liar?"

"No-I mean..." Exhaling crossly, Nami decided perhaps she had better change the subject. For once, she felt out of control and that was unacceptable to her. "So Robin can use magic? I can't believe that she never told me that. We're very close." Come to think of it, Nami realised that despite their close bond, Robin rarely spoke about her past and her family. And whenever the subject of magic came up, which wasn't often, she either kept her mouth closed or found some way to change the subject. Well, maybe she was right to have done so. Nobody could deny that magical beings often suffered at best a mild prejudice from those around them. She supposed that was why they often took to the forest. Perhaps it would take much time for people to realise that just like with ordinary folk, some were good, some were evil. 'Look at Law,' she told herself. 'He was kind enough to save me.'

Speaking of Law, Nami suddenly realised that he had indirectly evaded her original question. "You never did tell me whether or not you were going to help me get back home," she reminded him.

"Oh yes, I didn't." He didn't speak again.

Becoming a little fed up at his enigmatic responses, Nami asked as politely as she could, "Will you, yes or no, help me to get back home?"

"No."

"What?" she exclaimed, flabbergasted. "You mean to tell me that you would save my life and then just throw me out to fend for myself? You must know yourself how dangerous these woods are!"

"Oh, I'm perfectly aware of that, Miss Nami," Law drawled. His smirk had gone straight from unnerving to infuriating.

Well, time to turn on the charm, Nami supposed. "Please, Mr Law, surely you can spare some of your time to help a poor, vulnerable girl out?" Fluttering her lashes, she offered him a shy smile.

"No."

"Well, fine then," she exploded. "I don't really need your help anyway."

"Oh, I'm sure that you don't really want my kind of _help_, Miss Nami." His piercing eyes stared straight at her and for just a moment, Nami felt almost alarmed. Was he threatening her? Had she been saved by a psychotic, magic wielding doctor?

"I'm going," she said abruptly, wanting nothing more at this moment than to remove herself from his presence. "Thanks _so _much for the help." She rose, still feeling a little shaky, and made her way towards the door. He didn't make a move to come after her. When she reached the door, however, the room was suddenly encased in a blue light, and she gasped. When she turned around, she noticed that he held an arm out.

_Magic!_

Before she had much time to take this in, before she knew it, she was standing next to him. "What did you just do?" she gasped.

Ignoring her question, Law simply said smoothly, "I think that you forgot something, Miss Nami. Something very important." He gestured to his right and her eyes travelled. She felt suddenly cold all over, as she took in her surroundings for the first time. Standing on a number of shelves were little jars, and inside those jars were...

Organs. Organs floating, suspended in an unidentifiable liquid.

Almost mesmerised, she allowed her feet to take her closer, despite the astounded horror which threatened to overwhelm her. Law followed her, close behind, and pointed to one jar in particular. It was a heart. Speaking of hearts, why wasn't hers beating the way that that it normally did? When she touched her chest with her right hand, she felt no steady beat. In fact, there was no beat _at all_.

"It's yours, Miss Nami."

"I...I don't understand..." she said faintly.

"It's just so difficult to get hold of live specimens to operate on, and dissect. Your friend, the driver..." Law smiled, his eyes glinting. He gestured to a row of jars on another shelf. "These are all his. I had so much fun with him."

Nami was rendered completely speechless although her thoughts were racing a mile a minute.

"Ethics are just so overrated, don't you think?"

He was insane, she decided. She was trapped in a confined space with a magic-wielding doctor who wanted to do who knew what to her. Nami never liked being in situations that she didn't understand, and this was so bizarre that she could not make sense of it in any way. How was she still alive, if her heart was no longer inside her body? Struggling to rein in her rising terror, Nami finally made an effort to reply to his words.

"Are you using magic to keep me alive without a heart?" She felt as if she were about to throw up. But could she even be sure that she had a stomach any more?

"Of course."

"Why?"

"Because it's so much more fun."

Nami stood still, just watching him for a few moments. Then she began to sprint to the door. Once again, as soon as she reached it, a familiar blue light filled the room, and she was back next to him.

"I suppose that people's lives are just a big game to you," Nami spat, fury overtaking fear.

"Mm, pretty much, yes." Once again, he smiled that infuriating smirk.

"So why don't you just kill me and get it over with?"

He looked _surprised_ at that. "When did I ever say that I was going to kill you?"

"You didn't have to!" she exploded. "You're not letting me leave, so you must have some purpose in keeping me here."

"But not to kill you. I'm not _completely_ heartless, you know-"

"What then?" Nami was positively seething by now.

"I'd like to extract a few more organs, of course." It sounded so simple, yet so absolutely horrifying, that Nami laughed.

"You're absolutely insane, you know that?"

"Sanity, or lack of, is a matter of opinion," he informed her. "Besides, don't you think that further examination of the human body will prove beneficial to the rest of society? By understanding better how everything works, we will surely make amazing progress in the art of medicine. It won't cause you any lasting damage-"

"Maybe not physically, but mentally it might," she cut in.

"-Be that as it may..." Law shrugged. "I'm hardly going to pass up this opportunity."

And then suddenly he was lunging at her, and in the ensuing struggle, Nami felt her head collide with something sharp and hard. The panic returned at full force as darkness swept over her. The last sound that she heard was a sinister chuckle.

* * *

When Nami woke up, she noticed with a mixture of dread and relief that she was completely alone in the small room. Looking down at herself, she realised that she was still in Law's clothes. But when she gazed around, her eyes moved first to the shelves. And there were no longer any jars, let alone jars filled with organs. When she stood up, she felt physically fine, although she was sure that had her heart been inside her body, it would be hammering violently against her ribcage.

So she had been robbed. Twice. In less than twenty four hours. First her belongings in the carriage, and then her bodily organs. Well, at least the second time around she wasn't slowly bleeding to death. Small mercies.

It was dark outside, and although she would normally be apprehensive about wandering the forest at this time, she decided that things could not possibly get any worse. Braving whatever creatures lurked around her, she stepped outside. When she reached a road, she noticed a small sign signalling the way to her home town. It irked her more than anything that she had been so close to home when she had suffered at the hands of that madman. Well, she wouldn't take this lying down. She would walk the rest of the way, summon another carriage, and make her way back to Robin's town. Hoping that her surprisingly magical friend would know a way to help her, Nami set off for home.


End file.
